CONTACT INFORMATION: Law takes effect September 1, 2015. However, the language of the law calls for a physician’s “prescription” rather than a doctor’s recommendation, as is the case in all other active medical marijuana states. Under federal law, physicians cannot legally ‘prescribe’ cannabis or any schedule I substance (such as CBD). Rather, the federal courts have previously upheld the right of physicians to make oral or written recommendations in support of a patients’ therapeutic cannabis use. Consequently, it remains to be seen whether any licensed physicians will agree to participate in the state’s program.

An Overview of Texas’s Low-THC Medical Cannabis Bill On June 1, 2015, Gov. Greg Abbot signed SB 339 into law. Known as the Texas Compassionate Use Act, it is intended to allow some qualifying patients to access “ low-THC cannabis ,” marijuana that contains 10% or more cannabidiol (“CBD) and not more than 0.5% tetrahydrocannabinol (“ THC ”). The legislation allows regulated businesses known as “dispensing organizations” to cultivate, process, and distribute low-THC cannabis to certain patients.

Unlike other states with similar laws establishing limited access to CBD-based medical marijuana products, the Texas law requires that qualified doctors join a physician registry and include information in the registry itself such as the dosage recommendations, means of administration, and the total amount of low-THC cannabis required to fill the patient’s prescription. If issued, the prescription would also order a licensed marijuana establishment to distribute cannabis to the patient. In many respects, the Texas law attempts to mimic the prescription system put in place by federal authorities